Archive for the ‘Indian motorcycle’ Category

Dealers In The Distance

Monday, September 16th, 2019
strapping down a motorcycle

Strapping the bike down before driving to Idaho Falls.

Our experience on the recent OFMC trip where Dennis inadvertently put diesel in his Indian has led me to think about some things I hadn’t considered before. Primarily, the importance of being close to someone who can work on your motorcycle when need be.

It’s no secret that there are one heck of a lot more Hondas or Harleys on the road than there are Indians. First off, the modern-day Indians are a much newer brand than Harley, plus they cost a lot. So–so far at least–Indian is sort of a niche brand.

Thus, the economics of the situation dictate that there are a lot fewer Indian dealerships around and also not all that many independent shops with experience working on Indians. And when you paid something in the mid-20s or more for your Chieftain I’m guessing you aren’t comfortable letting just any wrench jockey tear into it.

But what do you do when you break down? In Dennis’s case, he rented a U-Haul truck and we loaded the bike in and drove more than 200 miles out of our way to get to the nearest dealer. That will disrupt your trip in a hurry.

If it had been Bill, on the other hand, who rides a Harley, we would only have needed to get the bike another 40 miles or so in the direction we were heading to find a Harley shop. Same thing for me on my Suzuki V-Strom. And there are plenty of all-makes shops that would have been fully competent to work on either of our bikes. Perhaps they would also have been fully competent to work on Dennis’s bike but as I say, he was not particularly willing to take that chance.

So obviously, if you’re like Dennis and you ride a bike where repair options are sparse you are going to make an extra careful point to be sure the bike is in top condition before you take off on a trip like this. But Dennis didn’t break down; he made a mistake at the pumps and grabbed the wrong pump.

I’m sure this is not an irrelevant issue for some people when they’re deciding which bike to buy. And it has to be a chicken and egg thing: how do you get the sales without the dealer networks, but how do you support the dealer networks before you have the sales? I guess in this case it helps to be a big corporation like Polaris that can afford to subsidize the new brand for awhile from sales of the established brand. But even they don’t have infinite resources.

I guess I’ll stick with my Honda, Kawasaki, and Suzuki bikes. There are a lot of them out there.

Meanwhile, I want to note that as I prepped to write this piece I googled Honda, Harley, and Indian dealerships in Colorado and was amazed–as I periodically am–at how many shops come and go. And then there are those who change their names. I try to keep my “Colorado Motorcycle Dealers and Repair Shops” page reasonably current but this is an ever-changing target. I ended up adding about eight new shops and revising the name on two. About once a year I try to go through and click each link to see who is no longer in business, and there are always a bunch of those. Ah, the joys of running a website.

Biker Quote for Today

Reasons not to date a motorcyclist: We never ask for directions. Getting lost is usually the point on a motorcycle.

Clothes Make The Make

Monday, August 26th, 2019
Bikers near Yellowstone.

A quick look at our riding gear makes it really easy to figure out who is riding which bike.

In the early days of the OFMC we were a pretty homogeneous bunch. At first we had two Hondas and a Yamaha but John soon gave his Virago to his son and bought his own Honda Shadow, nearly identical to Bill’s. I, of course, was on my CB750 Custom.

And our clothes were pretty standard: blue jeans and whatever layers on top we could piece together. It was a while before any of us got around to buying an actual motorcycle jacket. When we did they were generic jackets, not trademarked with by motorcycle make.

A lot has changed in 30 years. While I still have the CB, I rarely ride it on the annual bike trip any more, and nobody else even owns a Honda now. We are also fully geared up now, and manufacturer brands show up a lot.

This really became evident when, on our recent trip, we stopped at a rest area in Utah. Others stopped at the rest area included a young couple from California. At one point the guy came directly to me and asked how I liked my V-Strom. He himself has a V-Strom that he got from his dad and he loves it.

We didn’t ask but he volunteered that it was pretty easy to know who rode what bikes. Dennis rides an Indian and he had his jacket off, revealing an Indian t-shirt. Bill rides a Harley and his leather jacket is emblazoned with the Harley logo on the back.

And there I was, with the only semi sportbike wearing a mesh jacket and motorcycle riding pants, not jeans. The kind of gear you’re not likely to see on someone on a Harley or an Indian. Not too hard to add one and one and come up with two.

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Clothes make the man.” I offer this variation: “Clothes make the make.” If that dude is wearing a Harley jacket he’s probably riding that Harley.

Biker Quote for Today

You’re a biker wannabe if you ride a Ducati. (OK, over time I’ve put up a lot of these “wannabe” quotes but have never found an appropriate place for this one. I guess it’s because it is just inappropriate. I love Ducatis. Rode a Monster once and what a bike!)

A Lot Of Attention For The New Indian

Monday, August 3rd, 2015

Anyone who travels on their motorcycle knows you inevitably end up meeting and talking with a lot of people, primarily about motorcycles. This last OFMC trip was no different with the exception that an awful lot of that talk focused on just one bike: the new Indian Roadmaster that Dennis was riding.

Dennis and his Indian Roadmaster

  Dennis and his Indian Roadmaster.

Some people–like me–buy a motorcycle and hang onto it. If you buy a new one you’re adding to the stable, not replacing bikes. Others–like Dennis–get new bikes every year or two and never have more than one bike at a time. A couple years ago Dennis got a new Harley and I figured this was a bike he would keep for longer than most. Wrong.

Awhile back we all got an email with a photo attached: Dennis with his new Indian.

Dennis had recently received a small inheritance and he decided to go whole hog and get this bike. What sold him on it was the seat height. He’s pretty short so it has been amusing to see him on his tip-toes on his old Gold Wing and the last two Harleys he has had. The seat height on the Indian is only 26 inches. How totally amazing to see him straddling the bike with his feet planted flat on the ground, and even a little bend in his knees. Yes, he’s very happy with it.

This trip was the first time any of us got to see this new bike. And everywhere we went, this was the bike people were asking us about. It was almost comical. Inevitably, someone would be surveying the bunch of bikes, commenting on how nice they all looked, and then they would focus in on one particular bike. The same one every time.

“How does that Indian ride?” would be the question, or something like that.

“Hey Dennis, someone’s asking about your bike,” became a common call.

And Dennis was always more than pleased to tell them all about it.

He does figure that this is the bike he will hold onto for a long time. Indians are too expensive for him to just be buying a new one every couple years. And where else will he find a big cruiser like this with a seat that low?

I really think Harley and the others are missing the boat. If Indian can make a bike with a 26-inch seat height, why can’t others? There are plenty of other short guys out there, and a world full of women even shorter. Maybe this will finally get some wheels turning in some corporate minds.

Biker Quote for Today

Owning a motorcycle is not a matter of life or death. It’s much more important than that.